Building Faculty Ownership for Strengths:

Philosophical and Practical Considerations

Laurie Schreiner, Ph.D.Karen Longman, Ph.D.

Azusa Pacific University

Karen LongmanAzusa Pacific University

MaximizerAchieverLearnerRelatorConnectedness

Laurie SchreinerAzusa Pacific University

IdeationStrategicLearnerAchieverFuturistic

Question:

How many faculty does it take to change a light bulb?

In pairs: As you think about implementing a strengths-based approach on campus, what kinds of resistance might emerge among your faculty?

Sources of Faculty Resistance

• Philosophical differences

• Misunderstanding the strengths approach

• Questions about validity

• Inertia and the status quo

• Time and workload issues

Philosophical Differences

Survival of the fittest

Deficit-based remediation

vs.

Strengths-based development and application

Misunderstanding the Strengths Approach

• Misperceptions:– You’re just focusing on self-esteem—and that’s not the

purpose of higher education!

– Is this like the “Little Engine That Could”?

– This seems too touchy-feely – I’m not the warm and fuzzy type!

– If students aren’t told their weaknesses, how will they ever improve?

– The best way to achieve excellence is to work

on your weaknesses—right?

Validity Questions

• This is a natural—and important—question faculty ask

• What if some different “strengths” appear when taking the CSF a second time?

Actually:• Results of the national validity

study with StrengthsFinder among college students– Excellent construct validity with CPI and 16PF– 3-month test-retest reliability averages .70

Inertia and the Status Quo

• We’re always more comfortable with what we’re currently doing – even if it isn’t working well

• Leadership issues – faculty are needed who can spearhead this effort

Quo

Inter

Time and Workload Issues

Faculty invariably feel the pressure of many competing demands

– Advising

– Teaching

– Syllabus preparation

– Research

– Professional

associations

Addressing Time and Workload Issues

• Demonstrate how to take a strengths-based approach to current tasks– Advising– Teaching– Syllabus preparation– Research

• Emphasize the greater benefits in each area when a strengths approach is adopted

Is strengths the frosting on the cake, or seamlessly evident throughout?

Giving Faculty Confidence:Why Adopt a Strengths Approach?

Learning

Achievement

Motivation

Engagement

Sense of community

Student satisfaction

Persistence

(Talent + Energy) x (Knowledge + Skill)

Strength =

Strengths-Based Development

• Theme: Students will reach their potential when they build on their talents – and they can be taught to apply those talents to areas in need of improvement

• Outcome desired: Optimal learning, student excellence, and maximum gain from the college experience

• Approach: Assess talents, then teach students to apply them to new and challenging areas

Strengths: Not Just “What You’re Good At”!

Strengths lead to success, but they also

– Energize you – they “strengthen” you

– Create positive emotions which open up the channels for learning and complex problem solving

– Lead to greater investment of time and effort because they are self-reinforcing

Strengths Awareness Contributesto Human Flourishing

Experiences ofPositive Emotions

Broaden Thinking

Transform Peopleand Produce

Upward Spirals

Build EnduringPersonal Resources

“Broaden and Build” Theory

Fredrickson (2002)

Why A Strengths-Based Approach Promotes Student Achievement

Strengths Awareness Positive Emotions “Broaden and Build” complex thinking and response repertoire Self-Efficacy Motivation to excel Engagement in learning

Strengths Development provides new pathways to goals HOPE

Apply strengths to areas needing improvement Greater likelihood of success

Why a Strengths ApproachAffects Persistence

Strengths awareness and application achievement

Recognizing strengths in others and how my strengths work in relationships sense of community satisfaction with the college experience

Learning to apply my strengths to new situations or challenges coping skills

“The view that you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the

way you lead your life.” - Carol Dweck, Stanford

See Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

The Key:Your Mindset

mindset

Intelligence is something very basic about a person that can’t be changed very much

You can always change how intelligent you are

FIXED MINDSET GROWTH MINDSET

Two Strengths-Based Strategies

Talent Identification Strengths Development

Approach widely used in higher education

Identify & affirm existing talents

Who you are

Talents produce success

Approach intended by The Gallup Organization

Identify & affirm talents as precursors to strengths

Who you can become

Effort to develop talents into strengths produces success

Louis, 2008

Strengths development encourages a growth mindset, as it emphasizes the investment of effort(skills, knowledge, time) to develop talents into strengths

It’s all about

strengths

development!

Building Strengths1. Identify the natural talent themes

2. Affirm those themes with significant others

3. Develop the themes by learning knowledge and practicing skills – invest energy and effort

4. Apply the strengths to new or challenging situations

5. Combine the strengths with other talents you have—and with the talents of others—

to produce excellence

Evidence of Effectiveness

• Qualitative studies– Intent to use and develop

strengths– Improved interpersonal

relationships– See people differently– Sense of calling, direction, or

purpose– Self-perception– Awareness of strengths– Confidence levels– Future planning

• Quantitative studies– Satisfaction with advising– GPA– Retention rates– Course evaluations– Satisfaction with the total college

experience– Engaged learning– Optimism– Academic self-efficacy– Career self-efficacy– Test performance in courses

Strengths-Based LearningCantwell, 2005

65

70

75

80

85

90

Exams Videos Engagement

Control Group Strengths Group

“My success is up to me”

Beliefs about the degree to which effort will

make a difference in academic outcomesTends to drop during transitions

Affects GPA and persistence

(Perry, Hall, & Ruthig, 2005)

Perceived Academic Control

Impact of Strengths Intervention on Perceived Academic Control (Louis, 2008)

32.5

33.0

33.5

34.0

34.5

35.0

35.5

36.0

Pretest Posttest

Development Control

Posttest 2

S

29

Sense of Community on a Two-Year Commuter Campus

3.8

4

4.2

4.4

4.6

4.8

5

Campus

Climate

Intent to

Reenroll

Control Group

StrengthsGroup

p < .000; Schreiner, 2008

Capitalize on Faculty Strengths

• Appeal to the Input, Intellection, Analytical and similar themes—do your homework and provide evidence of effectiveness

• Appeal to the Relator, Maximizer, Developer, and similarthemes—point out how it maximizes and jumpstarts faculty relationships with students

• Appeal to the Strategic, Connectedness, Discipline,and similar themes—demonstrate how the approach can work with current strategies and tasks

• Appeal to the Significance, Belief, Activator, and similar themes—emphasize the results in students’ lives and the impact the program has made on students

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS

Engaging Faculty in Strengths-Oriented Approaches to Student Learning and Success

Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education

Eileen Hulme, Ph.D.Executive Director

A Model for Faculty Development: Learning Goals

• Recognize the role of motivation in student learning.

• Design strategies for engaging students in the learning process.

• Identify the talent themes that they utilize in their teaching roles.

• Employ a strengths development approach to their own teaching roles.

• Create classroom activities and assignments that enable students to develop their strengths specific to academic tasks and coursework.

• Integrate a strengths development approach into the existing curriculum of courses they teach.

Applying a Strengths Perspective to Teaching

Tell me about one of your best professors ever…..

“My Best Professors Ever…”

• Did not teach me what to think, but taught me how to think

• Helped me make connections between a serious academic curriculum and my own personal life, values, and experiences

• Worked with me one-on-one outside of class

• Asked questions or posed problems that helped me learn to think like a professional in my field

• Encouraged me to disagree with them and to challenge assumptions – mine and theirs

• Engaged me in the learning process

(Light, 2001)

What the Best College Teachers DoBain (2004)

• “The best teachers tended to look for and appreciate the individual value of each student….they looked for the abilities that any person brought to the table.”

• “Every student is unique and brings contributions that no one else can make.”

• “Personality played no role in successful teaching ….each had developed their own unique genius.”

The Most Effective Teachers

Combine intellectual excitement with interpersonal rapport. (Lowman, 1990)

They know that learning begins with what students bring to the classroom – what’s already inside them.

Strengths-Based Educators

• Know their own strengths and how they combine to produce excellence in teaching

• Apply their strengths to each aspect of the teaching/learning process:

– Preparation/course design

– Interaction with students in class

– Mentoring and advising students

– Grading and feedback to students

• Are transparent to students about how they apply their strengths to mastering tasks in the discipline

(Returning to the Marble Cake Image)

Your Teaching Success

Think about one of your best teaching moments . . .

– What energized you about that moment?

– What talents were operating in that moment?

– What skills (and how much practice) went into that moment?

– What knowledge contributed to that moment?

Now think of a challenge you face in your teaching– how could you apply your talents, skills, knowledge, and effort toward that challenge?

Talents

Skills

Knowledge

Effort

Our strengths are a lens through which we see the world … they shape the way we

process information

experience others

view time and structure

accommodate change

communicate

Reflect on your 5 signature themes

– How does each enable you to be excellent in your teaching role?

– What values arise from each?

– How do these values affect the way you perceive students or the expectations you have for them?

What is a “strengths-based” course?

• Instructor – teaches students to apply strengths to course assignments

• Assignments– provide variety and choice, allowing students to leverage their strengths

– create learning teams that capitalize on diversity of strengths

– are designed to identify and build students’ awareness and development of their strengths

• Students– are given the resources to identify their talents and to work outside of class to

develop them into strengths

Purpose: to motivate and engage students in their own learning process, so that they are able to reach optimal levels of achievement

60 in 60! Creating Moments that Matter

– 60 Seconds or 60 MinutesLots of

• Ask students to write a short paper after the second week of class, identifying the teaching strategies that best suit their strengths.

• Five on Friday – Students take five minutes to reflect on ways they have used their strengths to achieve class, college, or personal goals.

• Minute Paper – Students write a short narrative about how they have applied their strengths in their daily interactions.

• Assignment Alignment – Give students options for some assignments that allow them to build upon their strengths.

Next Steps

What is one thing you will do as a result of today’s workshop…

– In your own teaching?

– In working with your faculty?

– In encouraging a strengths-based approach to student learning on your campus?

For More Information

Noel Academy for Strengths-Based

Leadership and Education

Engaging Learners, Inspiring Leaders

www.apu.edu/strengthsacademy

Permission to Use

All the information contained on the PowerPoint slides in this presentation are the intellectual property of Eileen Hulme, Laurie Schreiner, and the Noel Strengths Academy

Please do not reproduce without written permission.

All strengths descriptions are the property of The Gallup Organization and should not be reproduced without the permission of the Gallup Organization.

Thanks so much for your understanding.